Expanding the County Commission won’t raise taxes

I want to set the record straight regarding the upcoming ballot measure to expand the Deschutes County Commission from three to five seats. There has been some misinformation circulating, claiming that adding two more commissioners will lead to higher taxes. This is simply not true. In fact, the county itself has released a statement confirming that the measure will not raise taxes.

The truth is, more oversight is exactly what Deschutes County needs, especially when managing a $728 million budget. Poor decisions and a lack of leadership from the current Commission have already cost taxpayers millions of dollars due to lawsuits and preventable mistakes. Expanding the Commission will bring more diverse voices and perspectives to the table, leading to better decision-making and increased accountability. More commissioners mean a higher chance that decisions will reflect the needs of all residents, not just a select few.

This measure isn’t about growing government; it’s about ensuring better oversight and responsible stewardship of public funds. If anything, the added accountability could save us money in the long run by preventing costly mistakes.

I encourage my fellow residents to vote YES on this measure. Let’s bring more transparency and better leadership to Deschutes County.

— John Heylin, Bend

Don’t hire Trump

With his many allegations of sexual assault, his fraudulent “charitable foundation,” his fraudulent “university,” and his felony conviction, Donald Trump would never be hired to manage even a lemonade stand. Let’s not hire him to be President of the United States.

— Brian Shetterly, Bend

Vance misleading voters

J.D. Vance and other speakers in the Trump campaign been pushing this question hard: “Are you better off after four years of Harris?” It didn’t ring true to me, and I have identified why. This question deceptively misleads voters because it implies Harris has been in charge for the last three-plus years— but she has not. She is the vice president in the Biden administration. The vice president’s duty is to support and be loyal to the president.

Mike Pence was President Trump’s VP. As vice president, Pence did not make one policy decision or initiate a single important piece of legislation, simply because that was not his role. Mike Pence was extraordinarily loyal to Trump—right up to the moment that, as a matter of conscience, he certified the 2020 election results. He certified them despite Trump obviously implying he should refuse to do so. Later that day, Trump repaid his Vice President’s prior utter loyalty by saying, “So what”? when he was told the mob of his followers that stormed our nation’s capitol — homemade gallows in hand — was chanting, “Hang Mike Pence!”

It is true that VP Harris now is advocating specific government policies. But she is doing that as a presidential candidate, to inform voters about policies she intends to follow if she is elected President. But just as VP Mike Pence supported and was loyal to Trump, Vice President Harris has supported and been loyal to President Biden.

— Rita Worrell, Bend

Growth and water and electricity

These were all in your Sunday, October 20 edition: “Cities of Bend and Redmond are concerned about their access to water to meet future needs” (from an editorial), and “Forecasters are growing increasingly alarmed that the Northwest may not have enough electricity of any kind to meet all the new demand” (from an article titled Super Charged in the Business Section) and “Developers propose hundreds of homes” (front page). Am I the only one seeing something wrong with this picture?

— Eileen Katz, Bend

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